Two members of Congress have removed the Equality Act debate from the Chamber of the House and taken it to the hallway outside their offices. After Rep. Marie Newman had placed a transgender pride flag outside her office, opposite Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Greene hung an anti-trans sign outside of her own, triggering backlash.
Newman, an Illinois Democrat who has a transgender daughter, on Wednesday criticized the Georgia Republican Greene for opposing the Equality Act – a sweeping anti-discrimination law that would extend civil rights protections to LGBTQ people through discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. to prohibit.
Greene filed a motion to adjourn the House Wednesday in an attempt to delay the passage of the bill. However, the motion was rejected. She also spoke against the bill on the house floor, says it should be knocked down and she was concerned that transgender girls and women could compete in girls and women sporting events.
Newman later shared a video on Twitter in which she sees a transgender pride flag hanging outside her office. “Our neighbor, @RepMTG, tried to block the Equality Act because she believes banning discrimination against Trans Americans is ‘disgusting, immoral and bad.’ Thought we’d put up our Transgender flag so she can get to it. watch every time she opens her door, “Newman wrote in the tweet.
Hours later, Greene posted his own video. In it she hangs a sign that says: “There are TWO genders: MALE AND FEMALE. ‘Trust The Science!'”
“Our neighbor, @RepMarieNewman, wants to pass the so-called ‘Equality Act’ to destroy women’s rights and religious freedoms. I thought we’d hang ours so she can look at it every time she opens her door, ‘Greene tweeted.
The move received a backlash from a few lawmakers online, including Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), who responded to Greene’s video by writing, “This is sad and I’m sorry this happened. Rep. Newmans’s daughter is transgender and this video and tweet represent the hatred and fame-driven politics of self-promotion at all costs There must be an end to this mess to #RestoreOurGOP
Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) tweeted, “Sickening, pathetic, unimaginably cruel. This hatred is exactly why the #EqualityAct is needed and what we must protect @RepMarieNewman‘s daughter and all of our LGBTQ + loved ones against. “
Others, including Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) and Rep. Raj Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), also criticized Greene for calling Newman’s daughter her “biological son” in a tweet.
“There’s no lower low than going after someone’s kids,” Waxton tweeted.
CBS News has contacted Greene and Newman for comment.
Greene is a controversial figure in politics who was recently stripped of her board positions for her previous embrace of conspiracy theories and her social media activities before being elected to Congress. She is one of the most outspoken opponents of the Equality Act, and so is the Chamber expected to pass on Thursday.
The bill expands existing federal non-discrimination laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act, to affirm that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is unlawful discrimination based on sex.
Speaking in the House this week in support of the Equality Act, Newman called her daughter, who “ boldly came to her parents years ago as a transgender. ” Newman said she knows that without this act, her daughter could be discriminated against in many states.
“Without the Equality Act, millions of Americans, like my daughter, could be denied housing, education, and more simply because they identify as transgender,” Newman says. wrote on Twitter, sharing an excerpt from her speech on the House floor. “I vote for the equality law for my daughter – the strongest, bravest person I know.”